1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for machine identification, and more particularly for information management using handwritten identifiers.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Information management is an ongoing requirement for both businesses and consumers in a modern electronically connected society. Networked processing and storage resources provide significantly greater information management flexibility and timeliness to users than has been possible in the past. To access such information various shorthand codes and devices are typically used.
For instance, if a user is sitting at a computer, the user need only type in a user code and user password to access a wealth of information. In another instance, the user can scan a bar code or RFID tag to access information or perform a service. In yet another more recent example, individuals are increasingly directing others toward a variety of web-based on-line information pointed to by URLs.
Each of these information management tools however requires a rigid structure and fixed format in order to operate. In the first instance, a computer terminal must be available, in the second instance the bar code or RFID tag must conform to a specific set of interface requirements in order to be properly scanned, and URLs are often quite long making them difficult to type or write and often have errors if copied onto a piece of paper handed to another.
Such limitations are not particularly great when the user has access to a well-defined and well-equipped setting such as a computer lab, a manufacturing facility, or a copier room, where quality control procedures can ensure that the codes and tags correspond to their required format and structure.
However, as society becomes more mobile without ready access to such resources, the rigid format and structural limitations of these information management tools can become quite burdensome. For example, a mobile salesperson, visiting a customer at their place of business and attempting to direct the customer to a specific product on the salesperson's web-site, might have to write down a particularly long and complex URL on their business card. Not only might there not be enough room on the card, but the URL would most likely be difficult for the customer to read or type in themselves without introducing errors.
Alternatively, the mobile salesperson could place a bar code sticker associated with the URL on the business card, however, then the salespersons would need to carry around a stack of bar code stickers for each and every product sold and then would need to tediously flip through them to find the right sticker. Similarly, e-mail addresses can be long and complex and are often forgotten and so perhaps the salesperson could not readily e-mail the customer the necessary product information.
In response to the concerns discussed above, what is needed is a system and method for machine identification that overcomes the problems of the prior art.